Pontiac Solstice Appearance, Engine, Production

The Pontiac Solstice has been here for decades. The roadster segment is usually comprised of cars coming from England. GM changed that perspective quickly when they dropped the Pontiac Solstice. The car was developed in America. It really made the fans excited with the release. There were a lot of interesting things. The design was plain gorgeous. The engine was also powerful. The first generation was originally a concept car. It made its grand debut at the 2002 North American International Auto Show. If you have become a fan since day one, you can probably still recall the event. It actually received raved reviews from critics and enthusiasts.

Pontiac Solstice appearance

In 2006, the car was freshen up. The release of that year looked so nice. It came with big alloy wheels. The design was retro-inspired. There is nothing wrong with an old-fashioned design if that works as an accent only. The lines were nice. Overall, people adored the smooth appearance of the exterior. It looked very distinctive. Actually, Pontiac is yesterday’s news. The financial woes that GM was suffering from in 2009 forced it to stop production. Today, the gorgeous car was already relegated to the past. It was so unfortunate. If it ever got a chance one more time, with some tweaks, the car might have done something good for the parent company.

There were a few things that made it so interesting. The sheet metal was so seductive. The driving dynamics were hit and miss. The stunning look did not translate well to its reliability. It was quite reliable, actually. It was only manufactured in the course of 3 years, from 2006 to 2009. It came with a four-cylinder engine. The specs were not much different from other cars released in that time span. Here are some notable features. The first one was a rear-wheel drive. There was also an independent suspension. The coupe model was only assembled in 2009.

Pontiac Solstice engine

Though the performance was not thrilling, the 2.4-liter engine put out sufficient power to move the car. It had an aluminum block. Besides, there were also dual overhead camshafts. While some people were proud to call it as a sports car, it did not feel like one if we paid attention to the engine. It was not responsive. If you need a car with responsive handling and a comfortable ride, this one may not be the best answer. There were some models offered. The base model was lacking in several aspects, the Pontiac Solstice GXP covered all these shortcomings. The performance was better. It was expected from a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. It was actually a turbocharged engine, so the power output was understandable.

Pontiac Solstice interior

The interior did not fare better. It was mostly cheap materials. The operation was sort of fussy for a convertible. The cargo space was not that ample. Some people complained that they had a hard time storing their wallets and cell phones. There was not enough storage to keep all necessary possessions. The small trunk did not help, either. It was kind of pointless for both models. It had a firmer suspension. The Solstice Street Edition was introduced almost simultaneously with the coupe model.